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Both sides in a lawsuit over the former Old River Road Bakery property in South Wilkes-Barre are asking a judge to grant summary judgment and side in their favor.

The lawsuit, filed in 2009, revolves around claims by Antonia and Tyler Hammond that Mayor Tom Leighton and solicitor William Vinsko Jr. made a "back-door deal" to sell the property to city towing contractor, Leo Glodzik III, a Leighton campaign contributor.

The couple had wanted to buy a sliver of the bakery property. They claim the city supplied "false and misleading information" about the bakery, abruptly removed it from a 2009 county tax sale without notification and planned to sell it to Glodzik for a sliver of its assessed value. The city had planned to sell the property to Glodzik for $38,000, far below the county assessed value of $478,300.

The sale was called off after the lawsuit. Harrold's Pharmacy eventually purchased the property to build a new pharmacy.

Leighton had served as Glodzik's real estate broker, while Vinsko had incorporated several businesses for Glodzik, the lawsuit alleged. The lawsuit claimed the conduct amounted "what could be considered insider trading in connection with city properties as well as ethics violations since there is a clear conflict of interest."

Both sides on Wednesday asked a judge to grant summary judgment in their favor.

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